DAVE G. HOUSER:
While he was still a student at the University of Florida School of Journalism in 1968 Dave got on the winning path with his writing and photography. First came a win in the “People” category of the national Kodak KINSA photo competition, followed by a Florida Bar Association award for “Best Editorial” by a Florida weekly newspaper. Dave was working as a student intern at the Bradford County Telegraph in Starke, Florida, when he was called upon to fill in at the editorial slot while the editor/publisher went on vacation. It was an editorial written by Dave about maximum security conditions at Raiford State Prison that was cited in the award.
Always at ease creating either words or pictures, Dave did both as a stringer for the Orlando Sentinel, then gravitated into freelancing motorsports articles and photos to ROAD & TRACK, MOTOR TREND and AUTOWEEK…finally taking up a corporate career. While serving as Director of Publications for PepsiCo, he developed a new “magapaper” format (maximizing the use of photos) for the company’s flagship publication, PEPSI WORLD. In 1977, it was honored for “Best Design” among the country’s company magazines by the Society of Publications Designers.
Dave credits his parallel abilities as a writer and photographer for a successful 26-year career as a freelance travel journalist. He has been described as a master of the self-illustrated travel article and so it is no surprise that Dave’s long string of travel journalism awards is almost evenly divided between writing and photography. Here’s a partial list – the most important of Dave’s awards:
1984 - “Photographer of the Year” -- Society of American Travel Writers (SATW)
1984 - American Express Explore Canada Award – “Best Travel Photos" Presented by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada
1985 - “Travel Journalist of the Year – Runnerup” – Lowell Thomas Awards competition
1990 - “Gold Award” – Destination Travel Article – Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
1992 - “Grand Award” -- Best Overall Travel Story – Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
1992 - “Bahamas Discovery Award” – Best Travel Article – Presented by the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism
1992 - “Bronze Portfolio” - SATW Bill Muster Photo Showcase
1992 - “Best Self-Illustrated Article” – Lowell Thomas Awards competition
1993 - “Silver Portfolio” -- SATW Bill Muster Photo Showcase
1993 - “Charlie Award” – Magazine Photography (color) – Presented by the Florida Magazine Association
2003 - “Overall Photography” award – North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) travel journalism competition
2003 - “First Prize – Resort Article” -- North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) travel journalism competition
2004 - “First Prize – Destination Travel Article/Domestic” -- North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) travel journalism competition.
2005 - “First Prize – Destination Travel Article/Domestic” – North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) travel journalism competition
1997 -2006 - For seven out of ten years, Dave won the Gold Award for Best Self-Illustrated Article in SATW's Western Chapter Awards competition.
2007 - Five time winner - North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) Travel Journalism Awards competition: First place in the “Destination Travel: Domestic/Magazine” category “Unlocking Key West,” MEN’S FOLIO Magazine; runner-up honors in the “Senior Travel” category for a Yuma, AZ, feature in WHERE TO RETIRE Magazine; another runner-up prize for “Best Cover Photograph” for a Santa Barbara photo gracing the cover of TRAILBLAZER Magazine; an honorable mention in the “Destination Travel; International/Newspaper” category for a feature on Tequila, Mexico, appearing in the Arkansas Democrat, and another honorable mention for photography accompanying his Oregon Coast article in MEN’S FOLIO.
2007 - Dave and Jan team up on a Las Vegas feature for MEN’S FOLIO to win yet another Gold Award in the Self Illustrated Article category in SATW's Western Chapter Awards competition.
2008 - “First Prize – Resorts - ('Nature Study: New Zealand'Men's Folio Magazine)- North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) travel journalism competition.
2009 - Dave and Jan continue to pile up the awards for their words and pictures...with their latest honors coming in the SATW Western Chapter travel journalism competition.
Dave netted a pair of Golds, one in the"Internet Travel Article" category for his Universal Press Syndicate feature on Greenland as posted on DenverPost.com and another top prize in the "Newspaper Travel Article" category for a feature describing his visit to the monasteries of Mt. Athos, Greece. That story was for UPS as well and while it appeared in a number of papers the contest entry came from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Dave and Jan teamed up to take Silver in the "Magazine Self-Illustrated Travel Article" category for their Greenland cruise feature published inMEN'S FOLIO.
2009 - Dave returns to the podium for his THIRD (bold-face) Lowell Thomas Award -- a Bronze in the competition for the 2009 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year Award.
JAN BUTCHOFSKY-HOUSER
On the exhibit front, Jan has won several first place prizes over the years in the Annual Fall American Photographic Competition & Exhibition at the Hubbard Museum of the American West, Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico. This juried Exhibition attracts thousands of entries from around the nation.
Jan has registered some impressive awards for her photography as well – especially in view of her more recent entry (some 11 years after Dave) into the field of travel journalism. Here are some of the plaques decorating her office wall:
1996 - “Bronze Award” - Scenic Category – Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) Bill Muster Photo Showcase
2001 - “Bronze Portfolio” – Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) Bill Muster Photo Showcase
2002 - “Frank Riley Award” – Silver – Photography – Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) Western Chapter
2005 - “Award of Excellence” – Photography – North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) travel journalism competition
2005 - “First Prize – Destination Travel Article/Domestic” – North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) – prize shared with Dave
2007 - Jan and Dave win a Gold Award ("Inimitable Resort", Las Vegas, Men's Folio) in Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) Western Chapter Awards competition.
2008 - Jan and Dave team to win“First Prize – Resorts - ('Nature Study: New Zealand'Men's Folio Magazine)- North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) travel journalism competition.
2009 - Jan and Dave teamed up to take Silver in the "Magazine Self-Illustrated Travel Article" category of the SATWWestern Chapter travel journalism competition for their Greenland cruise feature published in MEN'S FOLIO.
2009 -- Jan wins a Bronze Award in the Cultural Scenics category in the SATW Bill Muster Photo Showcase with her image of a cliffside monastery in Bhutan.